From the 1999 Columbine shooting to Sandy Hook Elementary to the June 7th shooting in Santa Monica, CA, an overarching narrative from public shootings in gun-free zones is the demeanor of the shooter(s)–they are confident their victims will not be able to fire back and therefore feel little reason to stop their rampages.

We saw this in the way the Columbine shooters moved through the cafeteria; we saw it again in various reports on the June 7th shooting in Santa Monica, where the shooter was described as “calm” and “methodical.”

According to The Christian Science Monitor, witnesses even described the Santa Monica shooter as “confident,” saying he “casually took aim” before firing at his targets.

At some point lawmakers at all levels–but particularly at the state and federal level–have to come to grips with the fact that gun-free zones create victims, period. They do this by mandating that law-abiding citizens remain disarmed, even those with conceal carry permits.

By their nature, criminals do not adhere to laws concerning gun-free zones. Instead, they are drawn to them because they know people in such zones cannot fight back. It’s time to let people fight back. It’s time for 2nd Amendment rights to be as valid on campuses as they are in Wal-Mart, at an ExxonMobil corner store, or in a hamburger shop.